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Man injured in Olathe shooting said suspect asked if they were 'staying here illegally'

Man injured in Olathe shooting said suspect asked if they were 'staying here illegally'

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Updated: 2:01 PM CST Feb 25, 2017

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Man injured in Olathe shooting said suspect asked if they were 'staying here illegally'

A suburban Kansas City sports bar has reopened, three days after a man shot two Indian men and a third man who tried to intervene, in what some believe was a hate crime.

Brandon Blum, a co-owner of Austins Bar & Grill in Olathe, Kansas, told The Associated Press on Saturday that the bar has been a neighborhood fixture for 30 years and that everybody's upset by Wednesday night's attack. Patrons who trickled in for lunch Saturday often hugged each other and staff.

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Blum declined to discuss the attack in further detail or to say whether the local man charged in the attack, Adam Purinton, was a regular. One of the Indian men was killed and the other two men were wounded. Purinton faces murder and attempted murder charges.

Authorities have not said they are investigating the attack as a possible hate crime, but the father of the wounded Indian man said he believes it was one.

Thirty-two-year-old Srinivas Kuchibhotla died. Madasani and 24-year-old Ian Grillot, were injured in the shooting. Madasani was released from the hospital while Grillot remains hospitalized.

Purinton was arrested early Thursday at a restaurant bar in Clinton, Missouri. He is jailed on murder and attempted murder charges.

On Friday, residents gathered at a church to Kuchibhotla.

About 400 people sang, prayed and lit candles Friday night at First Baptist Church in Olathe.

Those in attendance described the community as "tight-knit" and one that embraces diversity. Witnesses said the suspect yelled "get out of my country" and opened fire. Kuchibhotla was Indian and so is one of the wounded men.

Mayor Michael Copeland encouraged people to come together and said, "One evil act does not divide a united community."

The church offered counseling services and created a "hope banner" to use at a march scheduled for Sunday.